Notes by Prof. Salviati: Both surfaces of this disc are decorated with a pattern of hexagon-like bumps, a motif which is ultimately derived from the curls and scrolls that were used to decorate Eastern Zhou jades since the 5th century BC. The jade is pale green with extensive brown areas due to prolonged burial. Such discs were probably crafted solely for burial purposes and were placed in the tomb on the body of the deceased or on the coffin. Similar discs from excavations include a few from the 2nd century BC tomb of Zhao Mo, King of Nanyue, in Guangzhou. One of these, large and with a small hole such as the present Lot, was found placed on the chest inside the jade shroud which covered the body of the king: thirteen more discs of decreasing size were arranged in rows over and along the body. In museum collections, similar discs from the Sonneschein collection are in The Art Institute, Chicago: they are published in A. Salmony, Archaic Chinese Jades, Chicago 1952, pl.68:1 and 69:1.

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